Fedor Emelianenko (IPA: ['fʲodər jemilʲja'nʲenkə], Russian: Фëдор Владимирович Емельяненко, sometimes romanized as Fyodor Yemelyanenko) (born September 28, 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist, the current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion and the last person to hold the PRIDE heavyweight championship.

Emelianenko has been considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world for the last five years by many major publications, including ESPN, the Orange County Register, The Fight Network, the Houston Chronicle, The Wrestling Observer, and Inside MMA.[8][9] In addition to holding notable individual wins over K-1 super heavyweight champion Semmy Schilt, former PRIDE and current UFC champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice), PRIDE 2006 open weight champion Mirko Filipović, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, and Mark Hunt, he has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the PRIDE 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo Championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national judo championships.BiographyFedor Emelianenko was born in 1976 in Rubizhne, Luhansk, part of the Luhansk Oblast region of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union.[6] His family moved to Stary Oskol, Russian SFSR in 1978. His mother, Olga Fedorovna, is a teacher and his father, Vladimir Alexandrovich Emelianenko, was a steel worker. [10] Emelianenko is the second child in the family and has an older sister and two younger brothers, including professional mixed martial artist Aleksander Emelianenko. His brother Ivan is currently in training, although he does not compete at his brothers' level.[3]

Emelianenko finished high school in 1991 and graduated with honors from a professional trade school in 1994. From 1995 until 1997, he served in the Russian Army as a military firefighter.[3] In 1999, he married his wife Oksana, and their first daughter Masha was born in the same year.[6] In 2006, Emelianenko broke up with his wife and started a new family with his girlfriend Marina.[11] On December 29, 2007, his second daughter Vasilisa was born.[11] In his spare time, he likes to read, listen to music and draw.[12][13]

Martial arts background and training regimen

Emelianenko demonstrates his ground and pound style at a 2006 seminar in Atlantic City.Emelianenko's enthusiasm for fighting began with Sambo and judo. He initially trained under Vasiliy Ivanovich Gavrilov, and later under his current coach, Vladimir Mihailovich Voronov. Voronov remembers that ten-year-old Fedor was relatively weak physically and did not have an innate grappling talent; instead, his biggest strength was his perseverance and strong will.[14][15]

Emeliananko's official biography erroneously states that he trained in Sambo during his army years. However, he has specified in a 2005 interview that this is incorrect, and his training in the army was limited to running and strength training in a makeshift gym he put together himself.[15]

In 1997, Emelianenko received the official certification of a "Master of Sports" in Sambo and judo and became part of the Russian national team.[16] In 1998, after earning a bronze medal in the Russian Judo Championship, he started studying striking with arms and legs under coach Alexander Vasilievich Michkov.[6] Emelianenko started competing in combat sambo and mixed martial arts in 2000 at the age of 25, because he "didn't have any money".[17][18]

Emelianenko used to weight train extensively, but in 1999 he almost completely substituted his weight exercises with sport-specific training in grappling, boxing, and kickboxing. His strength training consists of daily pull-ups, push ups on parallel bars, and crunches.[19] Emelianenko also runs twice a day every day for a combined distance of 12–15 kilometers (7.5–9.3 mi),[20] and is a proponent of high altitude training, travelling to Kislovodsk, Russia with his team once or twice a year to train in high altitude.

In 2005 Emelianenko started paying special attention to improving his kicking technique. He trained Muay Thai with kickboxer Ernesto Hoost in Netherlands,[22] and added a Muay Thai coach, Ruslan Nagnibeda, “Seikin-do” league 78 kg title holder from 1998 to 2002 (33-3-1) and a former Tula State University Muay Thai instructor, to his team. Recently, Emelianenko has expressed interest in training young athletes.[1]

In November 2007, Emelianenko competed once again in the World Combat Sambo Championships, which brought together 780 representatives from 45 countries. When his opponent in the quarterfinals failed to show up, he received a bye to the semifinals, where he submitted a Bulgarian fighter with a choke in 40 seconds. The other finalist declined to compete, defaulting victory to Emelianenko.[23]

Club affiliationFedor Emelianenko began his mixed martial arts as a member of Russian Top Team, training with the first generation of Russian RINGS competitors, such as Volk Han and Andrey Kopylov. After winning his PRIDE Heavyweight title, a rift grew between Emelianenko and the manager of RTT, Vladimir Evgenevich Pogodin. According to Emelianenko, Pogodin, who held the position of vice-president in the World Sambo Federation, attempted to control Emelianenko's career through threats and abuse of his position to deny "Master of Sports" titles to Fedor and his brother Aleksander, in addition to financial disputes between Pogodin and Emelianenko, with Fedor alleging he was deceived by Pogodin.[24] After his bout with Gary Goodridge, the Emelianenko brothers left Russian Top Team and began to train with the St. Petersburg based Red Devil Sport Club, which is managed by Vadim Finklestein.[15] To date, Finklestein is still his manager. Emelianenko is also a member of the VOS gym in Holland, where he trains with Yogan Vos and Lucien Carbin.[15][25]

RINGSEmelianenko's only loss in the sport is controversial and came at the hands of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, at the King of Kings 2000 Block B event on December 22, 2000, via doctor stoppage due to a cut 17 seconds into the fight.[26] Footage shows that the cut was caused by a missed looping punch where Kohsaka's elbow struck Emelianenko's head. Elbow strikes are illegal under RINGS rules unless the striker is wearing elbow pads, which Kohsaka wasn't. Emelianenko says that this elbow reopened a cut sustained in his previous fight against Ricardo Arona.[27] Since the fight was in a tournament format, a winner and loser was required as draws or no contests could not be awarded. Since Emelianenko could not advance due to his injury, Kohsaka moved on (the match would have been a no contest or disqualification victory for Emelianenko otherwise).[28] In spite of a hand injury, he avenged the loss at the PRIDE Bushido 6 event on April 3, 2005, defeating Kohsaka by technical knockout when the ring doctor stopped the fight after the first round.[25]

PRIDE Fighting ChampionshipsEntering PRIDE on the heels of winning the RINGS King of Kings 2002 tournament, Emelianenko debuted at PRIDE 21 on June 23, 2002 against the 6 ft 11 in, 256 lb Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. His next opponent was heavyweight Heath Herring, in a contest to establish the number one contender for the heavyweight title.[29] Emelianenko, considered an underdog at the time, defeated Herring by doctor stoppage after the first round. This victory against a perennial contender brought him into title contention.[30]

Emelianenko was then signed to fight heavily favored Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for PRIDE's heavyweight championship title at PRIDE 25 on March 16, 2003.[30][31] The judges rendered a unanimous decision, and Emelianenko became the second PRIDE Heavyweight Champion.[32]

Three months later Emelianenko embarked on his title reign. His first match was against the former IWGP Heavyweight champion, amateur and professional wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita. A heavy favorite, Emelianenko was expected to make quick work of Fujita, but was caught by a wild right hook that stunned him—Emelianenko has claimed this is the only time he has ever been knocked down.[33][34] After working his way to a clinch, Emelianenko knocked Fujita down and went on to submit him at 4:17 in the first round with a rear naked choke.

Next came a one-sided bout against heavy underdog Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge at Total Elimination 2003.[35] Emelianenko took down Goodridge after wobbling him with standing combinations, then finished him with a ground and pound technique in the first round by referee stoppage after delivering unanswered punches and kicks to the head.[35] Emelianenko broke his hand in this fight, resulting in surgery.[32] He has since reinjured this hand, leading to the postponement of several bouts.[36]

His next fight against New Japan professional wrestler Yuji Nagata at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 ended the same way, with Emelianenko first knocking Nagata to the ground twice with punches. Emelianenko fought at this event as opposed to Shockwave 2003 on the same day due to being offered a higher fight purse because of the great deal of competition between the Japanese television networks screening these events and K-1 Premium Dynamite!! on the same night.[37]

Four months later at Total Elimination 2004, he met PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix winner and former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman for the first time in the ring and submitted him with an armbar at 2:11 of the first round to advance in the 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix. Emelianenko has indicated his respect for Coleman, who popularized the ground and pound technique that has become his trademark.[38]

A notable match with Coleman’s protégé Kevin "The Monster" Randleman followed just two months later at the tournament's second round. Randleman, a two-time Division I NCAA Wrestling Champion for Ohio State University and a former UFC heavyweight champion, quickly worked into a clinch with Emelianenko and then delivered a suplex, slamming him to the canvas headfirst.[39] Emelianenko recovered immediately and forced Randleman to submit with a kimura armlock 1:33 into the first round.[40][41]

On 15 August 2004, Emelianenko faced six-time All-Japan Judo Champion Naoya Ogawa in the semifinals of the 2004 Grand Prix. After submitting Ogawa with an armbar, he advanced to face Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, who had won a decision against Emelianenko's former teammate Sergei Kharitonov earlier that night. This match was not only to decide the winner of the 2004 Grand Prix, but to unify the heavyweight championship as Nogueira was awarded the interim title due to Emelianenko's inability to defend his championship in a timely manner.[42] In this rematch with Nogueira, the fight was stopped due to a cut to Emelianenko's head from an accidental headbutt he delivered to Nogueira.[43] A third meeting was thus scheduled for Shockwave 2004, which Emelianenko won. Emelianenko overpowered the Brazilian on the feet in the first round, beating him to the punch for the first nine minutes of the first round.[43] Nogueira faced great difficulty in attempting to put his opponent on his back, save for the final 30 seconds of the first round.[44] During the second and third rounds, Emelianenko's takedown defense and counter-punching earned him a unanimous decision victory to retain the heavyweight championship.[43]

In other notable bouts, Emelianenko won a unanimous decision over former K-1 star Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, a bout he calls his toughest to date.[45] The fight had been delayed previously due to Emelianenko's hand injuries and Filipović's loss to Kevin Randleman derailing their expected meeting in the 2004 Grand Prix.[46] Emelianenko managed to outscore Filipović in stand up fighting, landing many hard body shots, and controlled the bout on the ground. He has later stated that his hand injury took away his grip strength and so prevented him from trying submissions.[47]

Although originally endangered due to Emelianenko's recurring hand injury, a plate inserted in his hand green-lighted a rematch with American Mark Coleman in PRIDE's American debut show.[48][49] In a fight where Coleman was unable to mount any significant offense, Emelianenko defeated Coleman with an armbar at 1:15 in the second round.[50]

Emelianenko's most recent title defense was against 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt at Shockwave 2006. Sporting a broken toe during the contest, Emelianenko nevertheless secured an armbar in the second minute of the first round, but Hunt was able to escape and counter by stepping over Emelianenko, ending in side control.[51] At five minutes into the first round, Hunt made two attempts at an americana on Emelianenko’s left arm but failed to complete them.[52] Emelianenko submitted Hunt with a kimura at 8:16 in the first round.[53]

BodogFightWith a special clause in his PRIDE contract that allowed him to fight under the banner of any mixed martial arts organization as long as the event was held on Russian soil, Emelianenko accepted a match in BodogFight against Matt Lindland. The fight was held on April 14, 2007 at the "Clash of the Nations" event in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lindland moved up two weight classes (from middleweight to heavyweight) for the match and came in weighing 218 lb to Emelianenko's 233 lb.

Early in the fight, Lindland opened a cut above Emelianenko's left eye and clinched with him, pushing him into the corner and working for a takedown. At this point, the referee warned Emelianenko against grabbing the ropes and Emelianenko corrected himself. After a few seconds of working in the clinch, Lindland attempted a bodylock takedown. When Lindland lifted Emelianenko from his feet, Emelianenko reached for and made contact with the top rope; whether he grabbed it or only touched it remains a subject of disagreement.[54] After Emelianenko reversed Lindland's takedown and landed in his half guard, the fight remained on the ground where Emelianenko won by submission via armbar at 2:58 of the first round.

M-1 GlobalSince the purchase of PRIDE by the majority owners of UFC and the expiration of Emelianenko's contract with PRIDE, there has been speculation about the possibility of him fighting in the UFC, especially since a public falling out between Bodog's Calvin Ayre and Emelianenko's manager, Vadim Finklestein.[55] In a June 2007 interview with the Baltimore Sun, Chuck Liddell suggested that Emelianenko was on his way to the UFC.[56] Dana White has also expressed interest in signing Emelianenko, but considers his management team to be the primary barrier left to the inking of a contract,[57] whereas Finklestein has cited difficult negotiations as the reason.[58] A main point of contention between the two is Finkelstein's request for the UFC to work with his Russian M-1 promotion, extending contractual offers to other members of the Red Devil Sport Club, and permitting Emelianenko to compete in combat sambo tournaments.[55] At UFC 76 however, UFC president Dana White stated that he expected Emelianenko to sign with the UFC in late 2007 or early 2008, after Emelianenko was to compete in a Sambo competition that White would not allow him to participate in if he were under a UFC contract. He also revealed his intent to set up a unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture as his first UFC fight.[59] Nevertheless, these negotiations broke down,[60] as Emelianenko committed to a non-exclusive, two-year and six-fight deal with M-1 Global in October 2007.[61][62]

Monte Cox, the president and CEO of M-1 Global, confirmed Emelianenko would face South Korean kickboxer Hong-Man Choi in a New Year's Eve event, Yarennoka!, taking place in Japan and organized by the former PRIDE FC staff with support from M-1 Global, FEG, and DEEP. The fight was broadcasted live in the United States on Mark Cuban's HDNet. [63] Emelianenko defeated Choi in the opening round by submission via an armbar.[64]

DREAM and the futureOn February 13, 2008, Emelianenko attended a press conference held by DREAM, a newly-formed Japanese mixed martial arts promotion. His manager, Finkelstein, confirmed that the organization had a tightly knit alliance with M-1 Global and that he would be fighting on the new organization's fight cards.[65] After Emelianenko parted ways with M-1 Global,[66] At Affliction's inaugural event, promoted as Affliction: Banned, Emelianenko defeated former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia via submission in the first round.[67]

Mixed martial arts recordAs of August 2008, Emelianenko has compiled an amateur record of seven wins without any losses,[28] and a professional record of 29 wins, one loss, and one no contest; six of these wins are by knockout and sixteen by submission.[2][7][68]